Stewpan cover



July 22, 1930. w scH 1,770,997

STEW PAN COVER Filed June 28. 1928 IN vzwrmz. MM 7% e/M JBYOQM Z Patented Jul .22, 1930 UNITED'ISTAFTES WILLIAM H. son irrrr, on ST. mm, MINNESOTA 's'rnwrniv oovna Application filed June 28,

This invention relatesto an improved lid and handle therefor, for cooking utensils and comprises mainly a divisional application of matter disclosed in Figs. 6 and 7, '5 and claim of my application forpatent Serial Number 254,882 filed February 15, 1928. This application further comprises an improvement over said previous application, referring particularly, toja-removablelid- 16 handle .feature, butsaid handle. embodying principles'set forth in the .previ'ous-figur s of the originalapplication." 1 o. r

V The main object of thisinvention is to 'provide anew and simple-lid forstew. pans, kete tles and other vesselshaving a beaded or otherwise outwardly directed ,perimetral opening, and further'meansas'sociable only with such type of lidto engagecertain parts of the latter and serve as a handle to engage 20 the lid and the vessel simultaneously forfpurposes hereinafter fully set forth and as illus-' trated in the accompanying.drawing, ;in which,-

Fig.1 is atop view of this improvedlid or cover in position on top ,of-acooking utensil of which only the handle is visible.

Fig. 2.is a longitudinal sectional elevation about as on line 2-2 in Fig. 1 showinga handin dotted linesgrasping the handle of the vessel and also engaging the'tongue of my improved lid. i Fig. 3 is an enlarged diametricalcross sec-. tion about as on line 33 in Fig. 1 and showing myimproved-lid-in an inclined position on and overthetop edge of a cooking vessel.

. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary topview of my im-,.' proved lid including its tonguefpart and. ad. jacent parts of the lid, and aremovable handle engaging said tongue o'f'the lid directly 40 over the handle of a vessel on .whichthe lid.

rests. u V

' Fig. 5 is asectional view longitudinally and to one side of the handle and through certain parts of the vessel and lid approximately as on line 5-5 in Fig. 4:.

. Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of the slidably engaged parts of the removable handle and the cover tongueas on line .6'-6",in Fig. 4.

. Fig.7 is a-perspective-view of-the' handle only. i

1928. Serial No. 288,988.

Fig. 8 is a modified fragmentary sectional View of the extreme upper left part of Fig; 2 showing a fiat type of panbead 1113. I Referring toth drawing by reference numerals, 11. designatesany open. type of cooking utensil such as a stew pan, kettle or similar vessel having either an outward perime tral bead,as the round bead (Fig.2) llAior aperimetral flange such as 1113' in Fig. 2 1 formed by doubling over the edge portion as shown in Fig; 8. 12 is the'usu'al fixed handle of a stew pan and extending radially therefrom said. handle being omitted enlarger ves' sels. such as kettles on which a bail (not shown)isused..

-. 18 designates themain part of the stew pan lid or cover formed in circular shapeto con-- form to the cooking vessel and having the usual circular. depression'13 just inwardly of F 1:

its outer horizontalfiange-rest'dSR adapted 7 to lie" concentric on theupper rim of a vessel 11. u The parts and construction so far de scribed are common to :cooking utensilsand coversn'ow in universal. use and are well if- A feature of this invention is the provision of an integraltongue 13T of the cover extending radially from one side of it and preferably in a slight upward incline toward its extremity .(see Figs. 1 and 2) so that when the cover is in place this tongue is normally above and approximately parallel to the handle 12 of the stew-pan and 14 is an aperture in said tongueproviding means for hanging up the cover on a nail or hook. 15 are drain apertures in the cover preferably near its rim in a location about at right angles from a center line drawn through the cover and .its tongue (see Fig. 1); 16 in Fig. 2 illustrates ahand (in dotted lines) grasping 9 the handle 12 and the thumb bearing down on the tongue 131 to hold the cover down securely in preparation to tip the stew pan for draining it of liquid contents through the apertures 15. i I

During his draining process the cover is further securely held inplace and concentric of the pan by newand novel meanswhich will now be described. Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 100 3, 17 are a pair of downwardly thence inwardly directed front bead engaging members formed integral with and of the metal of which the cover is made, said members being each thus of U-shape and opening inwardly and located one at each side of a center line of the cover drawn through the tongue 13T and therefore of course being positioned at the opposite edge of the cover from the tongue. These members will hereinafter be designated the front bead engaging members, assuming the tongue 1ST to be projecting from the rear of the cover. be readily seen that when the cover is concentric on the stew pan these front bead engaging members each extend down outwardly of the vessel bead 11A or 1113, thence extend inwardly under said bead and the extremity of each member may touch the vessel inwardly and just under its bead. At the rear of my improved cover I provide further preferably two downwardly directed curved or horizontally ribbed fingers 18 one near each side of the base of tongue 123T. These fingers are of a certain conformation and for a double purpose namely to retain the cover in flat full contact position on the vessel rim and also to hold the cover in slightly inclined position with its rear end raised above the vessel rim for the main purpose of permitting steam to readily escape from the vessel and simultaneously cool its contents when so desired.

The fingers 18are integral parts of the cover each extending down from its perimeter and arched inwardly in vertical plane said latter part of both adapted to simultaneously engage the head of the vessel. Below said inward arch each finger is bent outwardly in a curve designated 18C and terminate in a short downwardly directed curved extremity 18E.

Each finger is thus approximately of -shape with the lower extremity formed with a short curvature 18E. The entire cover and its front and rear fingers are so designed that in applying the cover to a vessel the front hooks are first engaged with the head of the vessel, then the rear part of the cover is brought down so that the vessel bead engages the inner and lower curved faces of arches 18C with the extremities 18E outwardly of said bead and resting thereon to thus support the cover in inclined position. At this time the front members 17 straddle the front bead parts of the vessel loosely, but the lower extremities of these members prevent the cover from coming ofl by any accidental upward movement of the cover (see Fig. 3). To lay the cover flat on the vessel pressure is exerted downwardly on the rear part of the cover, causing the curved parts 18C of the fingers 18 to ride downwardly on head 11A and spring the said fingers out and simultaneously spring the cover It will rearwardly so that the front finger members 17 more securely engage the front part of the vessel and its bead 11A-11B, until these curvatures 186 are pressed below the head When the said rear finger members will snap inwardly as the cover rim part 13R comes down to closing position on the vessel rim, as in Fig. 2.

My improved cover has now been quite fully described but it might be further stated that the proportions of a cover embodying my improved means may be such that the front members 17 and rear members 18 have enough flexibility so one cover may be used on vessels of various sizes of openings.

In larger sizes of cooking utensils such as large capacity kettles it is well known that no handle such as 12 is provided but a bail (not shown) is used for more readily handling such vessels with their comparatively heavy contents.

My improved cover is of course useful for such larger vessels but for such purpose I provide an auxiliary handle applicable only to this type of cover in any size. This handle corresponds in general appearance to that shown in my original application above designated, differing therefrom in that it is removable from the cover and designed in' this instance to slidably and frictionally engage the cover tongue 13T and parts of the cover adjacent thereto as will now be described.

The handle comprises a single elongated flat metal bar 19 bent at approximately its middle to form about parallel upper and lower arms 19A and 19B respectively, of which the upper arm is the longer and its extremity formed with a downwardly directed integral flange 19A of a curvature transversely in relation to the main handle but concentric of the cover when said flange part is in operative position (see Figs. 4 and 5) namely with said flange engaging the top of the cover at the curvature where its depression 13D is formed. Rearward of said flange part the upper arm of the handle is provided at its opposite side edges with integral downwardly thence inwardly and upwardly directed spring flanges 20 (see Fig. 6) arranged to slidably and frictionally engage the tongue member 13T of the cover by being slipped on said member from its outer end. Outwardly of said flanged part the handle member is provided with a transverse slit 21 from which the tongue 18T protrudes outwardly and up when the handle is in operative position. Thus the tongue 13T is not only retained in said slit but is frictionally engaged at its opposite sides and underneath by the flanges 20 simultaneously, it being readily understood that when the handle is slipped on said tongue it is pushed inward toward the center of the cover until the front flange 19A snaps over and down into the shoulder of the cover depression 13D.

As previously stated this handle is useful particularly with covers for large 'vessels having no handle 12. Such vessels are'usually provided with a side hand-hold 22 us ually of U-shaped and fixed to the vessel just under its rim, as in Figs. 4 and 5, such handle always being located at halfway between the pivot means of the vessel bail. The lower and shorter arm 19B of my removable cover handle is bent down near its free end as at 1913 providing a shoulder and thence extended forward as a, lip 1913 the front end or extremity of which is normally close to the sideof the vessel (see Fig. 5). When in use the said shoulder part 1913' is arranged to bear lightly against the outer part of the kettle handle 22 and simultaneously the lip 19B extends forward toward the vessel wall and between the arms of its -U shaped handle. If there is no handle 22 on the vessel in use the lower arm of the handle is clasped in the usual manner but its lower arm will be sprung'upwardly until the end 1915 engages under the bead of the vessel as shown in dotted lines Fig. 5 providing necessary stability of parts.

It is obvious that when a heavy type cooking utensil is in use and with my improved cover on it, the handle means above described are extremely useful as operated in conjunction with the cover and the vessel and facilitate such handling of heavier kettles and the like.

It will be further understood that in the use of my improved cover, as best illustrated in Fig. 3, suchcover must of course be engaged with the vessel rim at the front by drawing it rearwardly into contact while the rear of it is held up in spaced relation to the rear part of the vessel. By then let- 7 ting down the rear part of the cover its flange extremities 18E first engage and rest on the vessel rim as shown in full lines, or'it may be pressed down to common level with the vessel top, the shoulder 18C of the rear fingers 18 merely riding over the beaded edge of the vessel and said fingers occupyingthe lowest position shown dotted and. retaining the cover concentric of the vessel.

Removal of the lid is equally simple, an upward pressure on the rear part of the cover releasing it from the closed position after which the cover is moved forward slightly to be free from Contact with the front part of the vessel. Ordinarily a vessel equipped withmy cover may be turned to a position with the cover in vertical plane to drain it, without danger of the covercoming off, but if a thumb is pressed against the tongue 13T as in Fig. 2 there is no possibility of the cover becoming loosened from the vessel.

I claim:

1. In a cover for vessels having an outwardly beaded or'flanged opening, said cover comprising a sheet metal plate with a circu} lardepression inwardly-of andadj acent its perimeter, front vessel; engaging means formed integrally'of said cover, rear vessel engaging means likewise integral of the cover ,for yieldingly engaging the outerperimetral partof the vessel opening with the said cover selectively in I'iLlSGCl'POSltiOIliflt its rear or in contact withthe container, a tongue integral of said cover adjacent said yieldable means and extending radially therefromia'nd a han dle adapted tobe removably engaged on said tongue and adjacent parts of .the'cov'er and to simultaneously engage selectively the rim part of the vessel andaffixed 'handleiof said vessel adjacent its rim. a 2. The structure specified in claimrcl in which. said front vessel engagingmeans' camprise .each a downwardly'1 and inwardly curved finger the terminus of which comprises an parallel to the main cover for the purpose set forth. f

3. The structure specified in claim 1 in which said handle comprises aflat metal bar of U-shape in elongated central section, the

upper arm longer than the lower, a downwardly directed flange at the forward ex tremity of the upper arm, and said arm provided with a transverse slit rearward of said front flange, a pair of guiding flanges directed downwardly and thence inwardly from both sides of said upper arm intermediate of itsslit and the front end to slidably inwardly directed straight flange engage the tongue of the cover, said tongue simultaneously adapted to project upwardly through said slit when the handle is pressed forward on the tongue until said front flange I V frictionally engages the circular depression of the cover. r

4:. The structure specified in claim 1 in which said handle comprises a flat metal bar of U-shape in elongated central section, the upper arm longer than the lower, a downwardly directed flange at the forward extremity of the upper arm,and said arm provided with a transverse slit rearward of said front flange, a pair of guiding flanges directed downwardly and thence inwardly from both sides of said upper arm intermediate of its slitand the front end to slidably engage the tongue of the cover, said tongue simultaneously adapted to project upwardly through said slit when the handle is pressed forward on the tongue until said front flange friotionally engages the circular depression of the cover sa1d handle comprising further a transverse shoulder and downward offset of its lower arm and its front end, forward of said ofl-set terminating in a position close to the side of a vessel when the handle is in connected position with the cover for the purpose described.

for Vessels having an outwardly projecting perimetral bead, a handle detachably securable to said cover, means on the front part of said cover for engaging the vessel bead means on the rear part of the cover to yieldingly engage the opposite or rear side of the .vessel in selectively inclined or closed positions of the cover, a tongue on said cover adapted to slidably receive said handle the latter of elongated U-shape With one arm adapted to removably engage said tongue and both said arms adapted to be clasped and pressed to- Ward each other and means on the free arm thereof arranged to be selectively clamped against the exterior fixed handleof a vessel or in contact With its head and in proximity to said yieldable vessel engagingmeans of the cover.

In testimony whereof I aflix mysignature.

WILLIAM H. SOHMITT. 

